The problem continues with the version 11 software on the S3. I have two, they both still suck on shuttle.

And those who say the two faster FF speeds are fine are incorrect, I believe.

Seems to me that they are MUCH jerkier than before the x1 problem occurred.

And rewind at any speed is also a LOT jerkier now.

It's as if the all rewind speeds and the two faster FF speeds are skipping a LOT more frames than they used to, while the slowest FF speed is not skipping any.

The FF function is something along the lines of "play every third (or seventh, or eleventh) frame", and this is broken in ALL the S3 FF and RW speeds. In general the ballistics of the thing have changed, and not for the good.

And what's with the retarded way it drops out of shuttle and 30 second skip? Stutter..freeze...pause...play. It used to be smooth as silk, now it's like driving on gravel.

I noticed the "first level of fast forward is essentially real time" problem over the weekend while watching football. I believe I was watching Virginia Tech football about an hour behind live. First time I'd seen the problem, but normally I'm using 30 second skip.

On the other hand, NBCHD has this problem all the time now (not just on sports shows--like I had previously thought).

It seems likely it's related to the MPEG encoding -- something about how I-frames are detected, perhaps. In Series 1 units, encoding was internal and therefore predictable. The Series 3 (I believe) is directly recording the incoming MPEG streams, which no doubt vary widely in their makeup, even from show to show.

DirecTivo recorded the same way, but all those streams were the same, from a single source. Maybe TiVo has been blindsided by the variability of encodings out there in the wild.

Not that this helps, since we can't solve the problem, only TiVo can...

It seems likely it's related to the MPEG encoding -- something about how I-frames are detected, perhaps. In Series 1 units, encoding was internal and therefore predictable. The Series 3 (I believe) is directly recording the incoming MPEG streams, which no doubt vary widely in their makeup, even from show to show.

DirecTivo recorded the same way, but all those streams were the same, from a single source. Maybe TiVo has been blindsided by the variability of encodings out there in the wild.

Not that this helps, since we can't solve the problem, only TiVo can...

My 2 HD DirecTiVo units apparently have the same 1X FFWD issue with digital OTA channels. On many programs, selecting 1X FFWD simply freezes/pauses the picture and sound. Advancing to 2X and 3X works fine. I have not paid enough attention to determine if there is some pattern to this behavior.

Tivo tech support turned out to be no help at all with this issue. Bottom line is that they said there's no known remedy, and it seems that they don't even have a bug tracking system. The person I spoke to didn't know whether Tivo is working on this issue.

It does seem that this issue primarily (only?) occurs on NBC HD and Comcast Sports Net (non-HD). I've had no problem using the 1x FF with CBS HD or ABC HD. The issue may also occur with CSN HD, ESPN HD, or ESPN2 HD, though I haven't tested these channels yet (I use the 1x FF primarily for sports viewing).

I see the problem today watching a recording of Saturday Night Live from NBC HD. I also see the problem tonight during the Laker game on Fox Sports West.

So, it looks like a bunch of us have the NBC HD and some sports channel (based on where we live) in common.

I called Tivo tonight (just got off the phone). Explained I had called a few times before about this. This time the put me on hold and went to a supervisor. Came back and said they are aware that other people are calling about this, but there is nothing they can do. I could pay for an exchanged Tivo if I wanted, but that I shouldn't do that because after all--my problem is only a small problem that I shouldn't worry about.

In the big scheme of things, it is not as bad as the thing not completely working or being broken. BUT, it is a bug that affects my use of the product and it should be added to a bug tracker that is prioritized and fixed in engineering.

So, please. If you are experiencing this problem--call in and report it. Don't be like me and wait it out a couple of months before calling. Call right away.

I didn't read the whole thread, but I have experienced 1FF from 1X to 3X since I think my original S3, and all the THDs. I associate it (without strict evidence) with errors or other funkiness in the transmission stream. Also, I had more 1X with 1080i programming than 720p in the past, though today I would not say that, and that does not mean simply that my 1080i sources happend to be troubled but not my 720p.

For example, OTA this weekend with football, I would often see 1FF look like 2-2.5X when there were modest errors in the reception. If it was worse, I might see it at 1X.

For what its worth, I'm also seeing the 1x problem on the NBC station on Comcast in San Francisco (Ch. 703). I agree that it appears to be an encoding issue with the video, as the problem seem to occur when there is lots of movement in the video, but returns to normal 1x speed when the video stream has little change occuring.

add me to the list - just noticed this for the first time today watching a recorded HD program. A minor annoyance compared to other earlier problems, so I'll just keep an eye out here for any new news!

Funny you bumped this - not sure if Tivo fixed something, or if NBC did, but I watched Sunday Night Football on NBC the other day and noticed that 1xFF seemed reasonable to me. This was KNTV HD via Comcast to my Tivo S3.

Funny you bumped this - not sure if Tivo fixed something, or if NBC did, but I watched Sunday Night Football on NBC the other day and noticed that 1xFF seemed reasonable to me. This was KNTV HD via Comcast to my Tivo S3.

It works for many people just fine.

Whether 1x FF works or not depends on the encoding parameters used by your affiliate. Some affiliates eliminate the information used by the TiVo for 1x FF to save bandwidth, while others do not. On my provider (FiOS), 1x FF works on every SD and HD channel except for WRC (NBC4 in DC).

If you are TiVo, do you modify 1x FF so it is much less smooth, but works on every channel? Or do you keep it as it is, so it is smooth for many people (or many channels) but doesn't work at all for others?

I also have FIOS in Philadelphia and almost every football game I watch (in HD) the 1X FF doesn't go any faster than real time including Big10, NBC, ESPN, and FOX. although it is annoying I just wonder if there is a verified reason why this takes place.

Whether 1x FF works or not depends on the encoding parameters used by your affiliate. Some affiliates eliminate the information used by the TiVo for 1x FF to save bandwidth, while others do not. On my provider (FiOS), 1x FF works on every SD and HD channel except for WRC (NBC4 in DC).

If you are TiVo, do you modify 1x FF so it is much less smooth, but works on every channel? Or do you keep it as it is, so it is smooth for many people (or many channels) but doesn't work at all for others?

Understood - I was actually just trying to point out that it appeared to be working fine on KNTV (NBC), which in the past was the "problem channel" for me wrt 1xFF during last year's SNF games. I suppose I should have highlighted that fact, or linked my posts from Sept 2008, in my post.

Although now that I've heard others still having problems with their NBC affiliate, I'm beginning to wonder if I just imagined it was working fine for me - I'll check again during this week's Colts/Cardinals game, as well as a few other NBC shows, to see if at least KNTV no longer exhibits the slow 1xFF...

KNTV is fixed for me as well. But a new problem started when the 1xFF was fixed. Now KNTV has an audio problem, a slight "pop" from time to time. This happens both with and without TiVo, so its a Comcast issue, not TiVo.

KNTV is fixed for me as well. But a new problem started when the 1xFF was fixed. Now KNTV has an audio problem, a slight "pop" from time to time. This happens both with and without TiVo, so its a Comcast issue, not TiVo.

Glad you mentioned the slight "pop" on occasion on KNTV - I thought I was hearing something but wasn't sure. I wonder if it's a Comcast issue or a KNTV issue in general - guess I'll meander over to the AVS section on SF Bay Comcast to see what the word is, since it's heading off the topic of this thread I'd say...

I've had this problem ever since I got my Tivo HD XL several months ago. FF X1 doesn't seem to be much of a problem for me on most channels (shows), but crops up on about half my football games when I really need it. Problem yesterday was CBS... both NFL games FF X1 was non-functional. Fox was normal, NBC was normal. I think we should all call Tivo and report the problem. Maybe if enough of us innundate them with calls about the same thing, they'll be more apt to respond? Whadayathinkabouthat?